We in the Young home are not good planners.
We have several projects going on right now, none of which are finished.
1. Painted ceilings. The original owners of our home opted for two-tone paint, so the ceilings are the same color as the walls. But not any more! (At least for downstairs.) Now they are white. If you've been to our house before and you come back and don't notice anything different, it's because ceilings are supposed to be white. It should just look how it's supposed to look.
And it does! Except for the spots that need to be touched up. Lewis and his dad did a phenomenal job, but there are a few places that need another coat now that it's not dark outside, as it was when they finished.
2. Living room and desk reorganization. I'm proud to say that this one is actually kind of almost done. We moved our desk to the opposite side of the room and used the couch to sort of split the room into different areas. Instead of one big sloppy space, we now have the desk/office space, a reading area, and a living/meeting room. All three areas could do with new chairs (arms chairs for the living and reading places, and a desk chair for the office), but other than that and the mess Jack follows me around making as I organize, it has actually come together quite nicely.
3. Moving Jack/getting the new baby's nursery put together. This project is started in the sense that we have a plan for it/know it needs to happen very, very soon. We'd like to move Jack with plenty of time before the baby comes so there is less of a potential for bitterness. But this girl's coming in 27 days or sooner and he's still in the same spot. So pretty much it's not started at all.
Other projects we need to start (and finish!):
- Replace the faucet on our kitchen sink. It's terrible.
- Get new cookware. A food blogger should probably have decent pots and pans.
- Kitchen storage/organization. Again, food blogger. Oi vey.
- Utility room organization.
And these are just the projects that we need to do. We have an entire list of projects we'd like to do.
Wisdom: Do projects one at a time, start to finish. Don't procrastinate until you're having a baby in less than a month. In other words, be smart. And sane. And not like us.
Oops.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Clean Up on Aisle Toddler
Rice is the worst thing in the world.
Because it's sticky.
And it's difficult to clean up.
And because Jack loves it.
And he is messy when he eats.
We are currently waiting for the rice to dry out a little bit before we attempt to sweep it up. I've stepped in goopy rice more times than I can count. My brother went home in shoes but no socks because he stepped in it.
Like I said, rice is the worst thing in the world.
Jack would disagree.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Things are Happening
With everything that has happened in the past few weeks, I've made the executive decision to write this post purely as an update on our life. Basically I'm going to gloat, so you should just go ahead and go deal with it.
Let's start with Jack. He's adorable. This much is obvious. But did you know that he's also a little smartie? We've been working on helping him develop language - he doesn't say much. He will repeat some initial consonants of words when you ask him to, but not much more than that. What he does do really well, though, is sign language. Many of the signs he knows don't necessarily fall under the "official" American Sign Language umbrella, mostly because his mother doesn't know them, so I just make signs up. But he can pick them up fast. If you teach him a sign for your name, he will learn it and know it forever. Lewis' brother taught him a sign for his name ("Dallas": a chest thump) and for his fiancée's ("Adrienne": place your hand on your cheek in the shape of an ASL "A"), and Jack does those signs enthusiastically whenever asked. He communicates quite effectively using JSL (Jack Sign Language).
Then there's Lewis kicking behinds and taking names in graduate school and as a teacher. In my head he is the favorite of all his professors (if this is not true, nobody tell me).
As for me, I actually have some significant updates in my life for the first time since, well, Jack was born. I recently got several new tutoring students (my workload quadrupled, but I love it), and I'm creeping ever closer to my due date. But the most exciting thing (sorry baby girl - you'll be most exciting in five more weeks) is the opportunity I was given to be a food blogger for a local cooking store. I will be posting different recipes and talking about the tips and tricks I use to help me put food on the table every day for my family. I will also be showing some of the products the store sells. The job combines two of my favorite things - cooking and writing. Pretty much it's going to be amazing.
Life looks like it will be pretty busy as we balance Lewis' job, grad school, my students, my blog(s - this one included), having a new baby, and well, Jack and all the greatness that he has. But the future looks promising and I am excited!
Let's start with Jack. He's adorable. This much is obvious. But did you know that he's also a little smartie? We've been working on helping him develop language - he doesn't say much. He will repeat some initial consonants of words when you ask him to, but not much more than that. What he does do really well, though, is sign language. Many of the signs he knows don't necessarily fall under the "official" American Sign Language umbrella, mostly because his mother doesn't know them, so I just make signs up. But he can pick them up fast. If you teach him a sign for your name, he will learn it and know it forever. Lewis' brother taught him a sign for his name ("Dallas": a chest thump) and for his fiancée's ("Adrienne": place your hand on your cheek in the shape of an ASL "A"), and Jack does those signs enthusiastically whenever asked. He communicates quite effectively using JSL (Jack Sign Language).
Then there's Lewis kicking behinds and taking names in graduate school and as a teacher. In my head he is the favorite of all his professors (if this is not true, nobody tell me).
As for me, I actually have some significant updates in my life for the first time since, well, Jack was born. I recently got several new tutoring students (my workload quadrupled, but I love it), and I'm creeping ever closer to my due date. But the most exciting thing (sorry baby girl - you'll be most exciting in five more weeks) is the opportunity I was given to be a food blogger for a local cooking store. I will be posting different recipes and talking about the tips and tricks I use to help me put food on the table every day for my family. I will also be showing some of the products the store sells. The job combines two of my favorite things - cooking and writing. Pretty much it's going to be amazing.
Life looks like it will be pretty busy as we balance Lewis' job, grad school, my students, my blog(s - this one included), having a new baby, and well, Jack and all the greatness that he has. But the future looks promising and I am excited!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Success in Life
Four years ago I wrote this blog post, which mentioned three things that I decided would determine my financial success in life. Yesterday Lewis and his dad spent the day painting our ceilings white. This morning Lewis turned to me and happily announced that we were one-third of the way there to that success, since we now had three-tone paint in our house (in half of the house, anyway) (the bottom half).
That got me thinking about that blog post and wondering how close we were to actually achieving the dreams laid out in it. Thank goodness for the internet; it took me approximately .2 seconds to find out.
The answer is this: we are surprisingly close! And as I reflected on those things selected for the post, I may have revised them a little bit in my mind, which got us even closer.
Before I go into detail, I need to mention this: three-tone paint is not on the list. I know I talked lots in the past about wanting the ability to put some color, any color, on our walls (our first apartment was completely white), but it was never on the LIST from the aforementioned blog post.
Here is what was actually on the list:
1. In-house washer and dryer
Check! We actually had that at our last apartment, which was wonderful, but the ones in our current home are even cooler. The washer is high-efficiency which is just tremendous because I do laundry all the freaking time. But on top of that we OWN our washer and dryer so when we leave this house they get to come with us. Boo-yah.
2. The History Channel
We do not have the History Channel. And I'm okay with it. The History Channel has changed. Gone are the documentaries with the narrators with the boring voices that I loved. I miss them terribly. Instead the History Channel shows Pawn Stars and American Pickers and Swamp People which can be fascinating in their own way, but they're not typically my cup of tea. So... meh. I think I'm okay without the History Channel. Actually, we do have the History Channel app on our iPads, so we can still technically watch its shows easily if we really want to. But I don't really want to.
3. More than two counters in my kitchen
Check! Our kitchen is not huge, but it is significantly larger that the one we had at Wymount. It can handle my bread maker, my stand mixer, my blender, and my toaster all out on the counter full-time, plus whatever other appliance (griddle, waffle iron, crock pot) I am inevitably using, PLUS still leave me room to prepare food. It also has a dishwasher. His name is Lewis. No, I kid, but we do have an actual dishwasher. It's not the kitchen of my dreams, but it is certainly a giant step up from the past.
Not bad, eh? We have two of the three things on the list, and kind of the third, plus we don't want it that badly anymore, anyway. AND we have three-tone paint.
Sometimes I like being a real adult.
That got me thinking about that blog post and wondering how close we were to actually achieving the dreams laid out in it. Thank goodness for the internet; it took me approximately .2 seconds to find out.
The answer is this: we are surprisingly close! And as I reflected on those things selected for the post, I may have revised them a little bit in my mind, which got us even closer.
Before I go into detail, I need to mention this: three-tone paint is not on the list. I know I talked lots in the past about wanting the ability to put some color, any color, on our walls (our first apartment was completely white), but it was never on the LIST from the aforementioned blog post.
Here is what was actually on the list:
1. In-house washer and dryer
Check! We actually had that at our last apartment, which was wonderful, but the ones in our current home are even cooler. The washer is high-efficiency which is just tremendous because I do laundry all the freaking time. But on top of that we OWN our washer and dryer so when we leave this house they get to come with us. Boo-yah.
2. The History Channel
We do not have the History Channel. And I'm okay with it. The History Channel has changed. Gone are the documentaries with the narrators with the boring voices that I loved. I miss them terribly. Instead the History Channel shows Pawn Stars and American Pickers and Swamp People which can be fascinating in their own way, but they're not typically my cup of tea. So... meh. I think I'm okay without the History Channel. Actually, we do have the History Channel app on our iPads, so we can still technically watch its shows easily if we really want to. But I don't really want to.
3. More than two counters in my kitchen
Check! Our kitchen is not huge, but it is significantly larger that the one we had at Wymount. It can handle my bread maker, my stand mixer, my blender, and my toaster all out on the counter full-time, plus whatever other appliance (griddle, waffle iron, crock pot) I am inevitably using, PLUS still leave me room to prepare food. It also has a dishwasher. His name is Lewis. No, I kid, but we do have an actual dishwasher. It's not the kitchen of my dreams, but it is certainly a giant step up from the past.
Not bad, eh? We have two of the three things on the list, and kind of the third, plus we don't want it that badly anymore, anyway. AND we have three-tone paint.
Sometimes I like being a real adult.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Why I Love Valentine's Day
I have pregnancy brain in the worst way. It's a real thing. Look it up. I have to write everything down right away or else I'll forget.
I was reminded of this last night as I was brushing my teeth. I suddenly remembered the whole reason I was inspired to write yesterday's post - which I had completely forgotten to include.
So here goes. Just pretend you're reading this near the end of the post from yesterday: Last night might have been the last straw for Lewis. I woke up in the middle of the night, dripping in sweat, completely convinced that there was an extra blanket on the bed that very much needed to not be there. I spent a good amount of time yanking and pulling at this blanket, trying to get it off the bed before collapsing back on my pillows, fast asleep. When I woke up the next morning, tangled in the mess I had made, I discovered that the "extra blanket" did not exist. Luckily Lewis had managed to sleep through all my shenanigans and was just mildly bemused at the state of the bed covers. Phew.
I was reminded of this last night as I was brushing my teeth. I suddenly remembered the whole reason I was inspired to write yesterday's post - which I had completely forgotten to include.
So here goes. Just pretend you're reading this near the end of the post from yesterday: Last night might have been the last straw for Lewis. I woke up in the middle of the night, dripping in sweat, completely convinced that there was an extra blanket on the bed that very much needed to not be there. I spent a good amount of time yanking and pulling at this blanket, trying to get it off the bed before collapsing back on my pillows, fast asleep. When I woke up the next morning, tangled in the mess I had made, I discovered that the "extra blanket" did not exist. Luckily Lewis had managed to sleep through all my shenanigans and was just mildly bemused at the state of the bed covers. Phew.
***
I love Valentine's Day. I mentioned last year about how my mom taught us to celebrate all kinds of love on Valentine's Day, not just the romantic variety. I love to have a special day to express the love I have for everyone that is in my life. Lewis is the beneficiary of the most material expressions (case in point, there's a white chocolate cheesecake currently baking in my oven), but I hope to take the time to express love to many of the meaningful people in my life today.
Every year I hear people express disdain for Valentine's Day. It's just commercial! they say. I don't need a holiday to tell someone I love them!
This is a fair point. I don't need this holiday either. But let me tell you about some other things I don't need.
I am grateful every day that I am a citizen of the United States of America. I don't need a day to celebrate our independence.
I try hard every day to take care of the world I live in. I don't need a day to celebrate the environment.
I am constantly reminded of the Savior. That He was born, that He died for my sins, and that He was resurrected. I don't need days to celebrate those events.
But I have those days. And I love celebrating them. These are all things I should remember daily. And they've all, in some way or another, been commercialized. But that's not going to stop me from taking a special day (or season, as the case may be) to focus on celebrating them more specifically. And the fact that each year comes pre-packaged with these holidays, so I don't even have to think about celebrating them and then forget makes it all the better. Why should love be any different?
 |
| This is from our very first Valentine's Day together, five years ago. |
But I've always been cheesy.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sleep Crime
My husband puts up with a lot.
This is especially true when it comes to sleeping in the same bed as me, particularly with me being pregnant.
My current sleep arrangement involves two pillows under my head, one pillow on my right to support my back, and a body pillow on my left (and between Lewis and me), to support my belly. Most mornings I usually wake up with one of Lewis' pillows as well. Between the pillows and my extra bulk, I'm not sure how Lewis doesn't just fall off the bed each night.
And then there are the temperature issues. I like to fall asleep all snuggled and cozy, with the covers pulled up to my chin. Except the problem is that since I've been pregnant, I've overheated in my sleep very easily. Which means that poor Lewis will either have the blankets from my side abruptly flung onto him in the middle of the night, or he will be cold in the middle of the night and not be able to pull any extra covering onto himself because I am passed out on top of them all.
Between my sleep habits and having to stay up late studying, it's no wonder Lewis is so tired these days. I'm amazed that he still maintains such a pleasant attitude. I sure lucked out with this one.
This is especially true when it comes to sleeping in the same bed as me, particularly with me being pregnant.
My current sleep arrangement involves two pillows under my head, one pillow on my right to support my back, and a body pillow on my left (and between Lewis and me), to support my belly. Most mornings I usually wake up with one of Lewis' pillows as well. Between the pillows and my extra bulk, I'm not sure how Lewis doesn't just fall off the bed each night.
And then there are the temperature issues. I like to fall asleep all snuggled and cozy, with the covers pulled up to my chin. Except the problem is that since I've been pregnant, I've overheated in my sleep very easily. Which means that poor Lewis will either have the blankets from my side abruptly flung onto him in the middle of the night, or he will be cold in the middle of the night and not be able to pull any extra covering onto himself because I am passed out on top of them all.
Between my sleep habits and having to stay up late studying, it's no wonder Lewis is so tired these days. I'm amazed that he still maintains such a pleasant attitude. I sure lucked out with this one.
 |
| Jack and I both did. |
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I Can't Take Him Anywhere
We in the Young home are in the midst of an intensely busy week. Well, Lewis is, anyway. My busy part is over, save for the fact that I have to attempt to keep house and wrangle the toddler without him. The housekeeping thing isn't going great, but at least Jack is alive.
Of course I can't really take much credit for his well-being either, considering it seems I've done my very best to prevent it.
For those of you who are not well-versed in Mormon-dom, we have a thing called "primary," which is where all the kids under 12 go during church on Sundays. I am a part of the primary presidency in our congregation. Last night we held a training session for all of our teachers to make sure they knew all the rules and regulations for primary, as well as how to, you know, teach (good news: they do).
Since Lewis had parent-teacher conferences last night, Jack had to come with me. The training included an appreciation dinner: soups, each of which Jack turned his nose up at, and desserts, each of which contained dairy or peanuts, which he's allergic to. Jack naturally decided to scoff at all of the measly snacks I brought for him and instead subsisted on the gummy candies we had placed on the tables and which he at one point spewed all over the floor, just for fun, and a pack of Smarties I dug out of the diaper bag.
Jack was fine playing on his own until I started eating my food. Naturally. So I put him up on the chair next to me, which he promptly fell off of. The combination of the impact and his subsequent screams caused him to choke on the Smartie(s) he had in his mouth, a problem which was solved by a little bit of vomit. Thankfully, I was holding him over a drain when this occurred.
Back in the room where the dinner was going on, Jack decided that he wanted to be right back on the chair he had just fallen from. He sometimes doesn't make much sense. Eventually he went off to play with some other kids. I kept an eye on him due to the food situation, but as far as I could tell everything he couldn't have was out of his reach. I got comfortable. Too comfortable.
While I was in the middle of my training presentation, the daughter of another presidency member tapped my shoulder to show me how silly Jack looked. With chocolate smeared all over his hands and face. MILK chocolate.
In my achy and large 7.5 months pregnant state, I'm not one for moving swiftly. But when I saw my chocolate-coated toddler, I swept him up in my arms and ran for the bathroom just about as fast as it is possible to move. Usain Bolt fast.
As far as we have been able to tell, Jack's milk allergy causes nothing more than hives from direct contact. But he's only ever had teeny amounts of milk on his skin before. There was a lot of this chocolate, and it was everywhere. Plus he started rubbing his eyes, probably because they were itchy, which only made the problem worse. I had no idea what so much milk would do to his system.
The answer is still just hives. Thankfully. With a combination of soap, water, paper towels, and baby wipes once we made it back from the bathroom, Jack was fine. Itchy, red, and bumpy, but fine. And even that faded pretty quickly.
This is why we're homebodies.
Of course I can't really take much credit for his well-being either, considering it seems I've done my very best to prevent it.
For those of you who are not well-versed in Mormon-dom, we have a thing called "primary," which is where all the kids under 12 go during church on Sundays. I am a part of the primary presidency in our congregation. Last night we held a training session for all of our teachers to make sure they knew all the rules and regulations for primary, as well as how to, you know, teach (good news: they do).
Since Lewis had parent-teacher conferences last night, Jack had to come with me. The training included an appreciation dinner: soups, each of which Jack turned his nose up at, and desserts, each of which contained dairy or peanuts, which he's allergic to. Jack naturally decided to scoff at all of the measly snacks I brought for him and instead subsisted on the gummy candies we had placed on the tables and which he at one point spewed all over the floor, just for fun, and a pack of Smarties I dug out of the diaper bag.
Jack was fine playing on his own until I started eating my food. Naturally. So I put him up on the chair next to me, which he promptly fell off of. The combination of the impact and his subsequent screams caused him to choke on the Smartie(s) he had in his mouth, a problem which was solved by a little bit of vomit. Thankfully, I was holding him over a drain when this occurred.
Back in the room where the dinner was going on, Jack decided that he wanted to be right back on the chair he had just fallen from. He sometimes doesn't make much sense. Eventually he went off to play with some other kids. I kept an eye on him due to the food situation, but as far as I could tell everything he couldn't have was out of his reach. I got comfortable. Too comfortable.
While I was in the middle of my training presentation, the daughter of another presidency member tapped my shoulder to show me how silly Jack looked. With chocolate smeared all over his hands and face. MILK chocolate.
In my achy and large 7.5 months pregnant state, I'm not one for moving swiftly. But when I saw my chocolate-coated toddler, I swept him up in my arms and ran for the bathroom just about as fast as it is possible to move. Usain Bolt fast.
As far as we have been able to tell, Jack's milk allergy causes nothing more than hives from direct contact. But he's only ever had teeny amounts of milk on his skin before. There was a lot of this chocolate, and it was everywhere. Plus he started rubbing his eyes, probably because they were itchy, which only made the problem worse. I had no idea what so much milk would do to his system.
The answer is still just hives. Thankfully. With a combination of soap, water, paper towels, and baby wipes once we made it back from the bathroom, Jack was fine. Itchy, red, and bumpy, but fine. And even that faded pretty quickly.
This is why we're homebodies.
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